Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  My head almost turned in a circle I looked behind me so fast. And there they were. Beautiful and black with turquoise weaved in. Unfurling behind me, they almost touched the ground.

  “Um. This is nice and all that I got my wings, but how do I put them back again?” All I wanted right now was to sleep for a couple hours, and then we would see from there.

  “Think about them being gone. About them disappearing.” Caine’s hand stroked down my hair to my back between my wings. He was massaging the new muscles and bones just like before.

  Closing my eyes, my thoughts were all on my normal back. No wings. No wings. No wings. Just like before. The words became a mantra in my head until I heard Caine declare, “They’re gone.”

  My head fell back again, and I heard nothing more.

  11

  A couple hours later, I awoke to a knock on my door and groaned. “Come in.”

  Devlin’s head appeared around the door as I burrowed farther into the blankets. “Are you alright? What do you need? Should I make you a coffee? We need to get to work on your illusions. I wonder if something is happening with the demons and that’s why your wings came out so soon. It usually takes a few weeks or months.”

  “Coffee sounds good. Iced if that’s okay. I feel better than I ever have. I’ll be down in a few.

  K?”

  “Fine. We’ll see you then. And Paige?”

  I moved the arm from over my eyes to blink my eyes multiple times to remove the blurry vision.

  “I’m glad we’re finally working together. Know your heritage.” His eyes were lowered and I was surprised to see a shy blush rise from his neck to overcome his face.

  I also surprised myself by blurting out, “Me too.”

  His blue eyes met mine and I was shocked into silence by seeing tears swimming in them. He turned and the door quietly closed behind him.

  Shaking my head at what had just transpired, I went into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face to wake me up further. I had taken a hot shower when I had come up earlier to massage any stiffness out of my muscles and they were fine as far as I could tell.

  I did yoga daily with martial arts three or four days a week along with running. I kept in shape so I was able to handle the exercise I over did earlier.

  Quietly leaving the bedroom with fresh socks and boots in hand, I walked barefoot, with my hand brushing against the carved bannister as I walked down the stairs. My gaze taking in the original paintings on the walls. Some were landscape, some Guigan.

  This house was such a plethora of differences. Elegance, like this staircase, compared to the comfortable living area, with its soft leather furniture. But even that cost a fortune I was sure. Bu, it all worked, it fit together somehow.

  The three of them were huddled around a small four-person kitchen set. Devlin saw me first and jumped up to get me a fancy ass cup of coffee. It was hot I was sure but that would be fine.

  The blending of the different coffee flavors along with the hints of vanilla and chocolate had me closing my eyes in ecstasy. After the moan of pleasure that escaped my mouth, I opened my eyes to see all three of them staring at me. “What? I enjoy good coffee. Who made this heaven for the taste buds?” My eyes traveled between the three of them to see Amy raise her hand as she bounced on her seat. “How did you blend these coffees?”

  She smirked at me. “It’s a secret and I’d have to kill you after I told you.”

  A giggle burst out of me to strangle in my throat at her serious expression. One of my hands inched up to my throat as I considered whether she was telling the truth.

  Amy’s body moved as she tried to not laugh at the look of horror, I was sure was plastered over my face. A burst of air exploded out of her mouth as she couldn’t hold in the laugh any more.

  I joined in her laughter at my expense, her teasing something I wasn’t used to but was able to laugh at myself.

  The men glanced at each other with bemused expressions on their faces then apparently remembered they were mad at each other and turned those expressions into glares. They got up without a word to stomp through the kitchen door, Amy behind shaking her head making strangling motions and gagging sounds with her hands around her neck.

  As I sipped at my coffee, I followed the three of them out of the house to the back where we had been before. Amy held out a slender hand for the cup which I hurriedly gulped the last of the coffee down, handing it to her afterward.

  Standing at the ready for action with feet hip width apart waiting for the next instructions.

  Devlin stared at me for a moment a smile that quivered about his lips as he tried not to smile. “Come on, you’re not getting into a fight just yet. Close your eyes and center yourself. You need to find your inner self.”

  Doing as he asked was no easy task. I closed my eyes anyway and breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth repeatedly, trying to make my mind a blank slate.

  Finally, I imagined I could fly away as I got into my zone. “Paige. Paige. Open your eyes and look at me.”

  Faintly, the voice came to me as if from a great distance. Opening my eyes as it asked to see Devlin with Caine and Amy bending toward me anxiously.

  “What?” My voice didn’t even sound like myself. Floating. That’s what it sounded like to me.

  “Imagine a delusion. Anything you’d like. Do you see it? There? Is it coming closer?” Devlin’s soothing voice had me imagining a flower. Something unusual.

  Looking down at my open palm, there it was. A tiny bell-like flower in lavender. My hand moved toward it and I touched the tiny bell. It tinkled. Like a tiny bell. It was real. Add a butterfly to be a final touch.

  “You did its girl!” “P. You did it!” Devlin, Caine and Amy exclaimed in excitement.

  “Now think of a sword like one of the ones you saw last night. They glow because they are filled with

  God’s Love and the demons can’t handle the Love and break apart, returning to hell,” Caine explained, his hands on his hips. He moved one hand up and immediately a glowing five-foot-long sword appeared. Blue light pulsed as if with a heartbeat.

  Peering at my hand, expecting a glowing sword to suddenly appear, I waited as he explained further, “Illusion the sword. Imagine it real in your hand. Exactly what you want and, in your head, say, ‘God please bless this sword that will send the demons back to where they belong. Amen.’”

  Sending Devlin, a gaze of yeah right, ​ ​I narrowed my eyes at my hand and tried again, doing what he said.

  A sword came to mind, two feet long that glowed in pink and blues, the colors running up and down along the length, pulsing with heat. The grip was silver and curled around with roses. And there it was. A heavy weight dragging my hand down for a moment before I lifted it again.

  Raising my eyes to Devlin, I gave him my brightest, biggest smile possible. I had never been this happy. He smiled back and reaching out with his arms took me by the shoulders, drawing me into his arms. I rested my cheek against his shoulder, rubbing it into the rough cotton of his shirt, my heart full, feeling a father’s love for the first time in my life.

  Raising my eyes to his I nodded and let him hug me so close I felt like my back was going to break.

  Grinning again, tears burned at the back of my eyes threatening to overflow as they held at the brim.

  Dashing as his own eyes with the side of his hand, Devlin said with a voice roughened with emotion, “Come on. Back to work. We have years to make up for.”

  Bobbing my head a couple of times, I realized my sword was gone. I held my gaze on Devlin and Caine before they realized what was wrong. “Your mind concentrated on something else and the sword disappeared. As you learn to hold on to the image in your mind, you’ll be able to keep the sword in the here and now not having to think about it. So, concentrate again. Yes, that’s right. Hold on to that image.”

  Holding my hand out again the sword appeared faster this time. Gripping the handle so tight it bit into my skin, it drew a small
amount of blood.

  The sword suddenly took on a life of its own, slashing through the air, becoming one with me. An intellectual and emotional bond strung us together. It was as if a link was forged.

  A joy like I had never felt before overtook me. My heart so full, it felt like it would explode with the emotion. It was as if I was having freedom for the first time.

  Not sure how much time had passed but my arm holding the blade suddenly became uncomfortably heavy. The sword disappeared and I collapsed into a jelly-like puddle.

  “Paige!” Devlin and Caine roared as they dropped to the ground beside me.

  Looking up at the perfect blue of the cloudless sky, I couldn’t imagine a more special ending to the day. The only thing that could possibly make it better would be the presence of Mom and Ben.

  “Paige!” The soft voice of my mother appeared next to my ear as a hand stroked my cheek. “What have you done to her?”

  Devlin’s voice was confused as the deep tones hit my ears, “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s as if the sword took over her.”

  “Paige.” The slow voice of Ben came from my other side. Was I dying?

  My head slipped to the side do that I could gaze upon the people about me. I wanted to ask when Mom and Ben had got there and how but my lips wouldn’t move.

  “What’s happening?” A female voice asked.

  Amy stood off to the side, her hands covering her mouth, sobs raking her body as tears streamed from her eyes.

  Trying to tell everyone I was fine when I suddenly felt a presence enter my mind. Well, it wasn’t exactly a presence. I couldn’t describe it. It was a knowing, maybe. A knowing of God, as if he was there, soothing me.

  Giving me what I needed to know as a new Angel Warrior. How the sword was now a part of me, being able to come and go at my will. I had been transformed, still not quite an angel but different from other angel half breeds like Amy.

  My eyes opened and closed of their own violation. “Oh my god, her eyes. They’re glowing.”

  The knowing gave me the idea of leaving as it left my mind and a heavy weight lifted from my chest. My lungs expanded as I drew a deep breath in what felt like forever.

  Sitting up suddenly I almost jumped to my feet but held back knowing something serious had just happened but not exactly what.

  I turned my head back and forth wanting to see what it was that was wrong. I was surrounded by the people close to me, wonder on their faces.

  Quirking an eyebrow, I waited for someone to tell me what was going on.

  “You died, Paige honey. You died.” I could hear Mom forcing the words out of a mouth filled with tears.

  I was so shocked I couldn’t speak. Dead? I hadn’t felt dead.

  My gaze traveled to each face where I saw the serious expression on their faces.

  “What happened, Paige? Did you see God?” Amy’s face lifted with wonder and hope her hands folded in front of her as if in prayer.

  “I…don’t...know.” I said. “There was something. A knowing of something.” Shaking my head, I looked to the side letting my eyes unfocused as I thought.

  Unsure about what to say or how to describe what I felt, I only stood there like a lump. “Come on let’s go in. I’m sure Paige has had enough excitement for one day. She needs to eat and sleep in that order.” Mom started ordering everyone around even though three of them were way older than her. But she had that mother vibe going on.

  Feeling drained, I had to agree and went to slowly stand up but Caine took the opportunity away from me when he bent and swept me into his arms.

  Devlin shouted angrily at him with much waving of arms and stomping of feet but Caine completely ignored him, carrying me into the house with a parade following behind.

  Setting me into a chair, he opened the fridge in a rush, getting me a glass of iced sweet tea. My favorite. Also, my downfall. The sweeter the better. Ssh. Don’t tell anybody.

  And​ ​ he got me a straw. Sweet man. Big bad tatted angel man has a soft side.

  Leaning back in my chair, sipping my tea, I settled into a kind of dream state. A dark-haired handsome man with a dark scruff on his jaw and a striking face focused in my mind.

  He gazed right at me as if he were seeing me and said, “Paige, you need to come to me, we can work together. I am Lucifer and you could be my bride and help me rule this little kingdom. You have the power; you just don’t know it yet. Think about it for tonight and I’ll contact you tomorrow. You love your mother and little brother, right? Wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, right?”

  I drew in a deep shaking breath and let it out in a deep huff.

  “What’s wrong?” Caine asked, alarmed by my startled expression.

  “What does Lucifer look like?” I gazed at both Mom and Ben and speculated about whether I had heard Lucifer in my head. All this head talking was making my head hurt.

  Caine and Devlin regarded each other in puzzlement before returning their gazes back onto me. Devlin answered, “Well, he’s tall.” Caine nodded in agreement and went on, “Dark hair, and last time I saw him, he had a bit of a beard. Why?”

  “I think he was just talking to me in my head.”

  “In your head?” Caine asked. He leaned back against the counter, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossing at the ankles. He flicked the top of a beer bottle off with his thumb, then dropped his head back to gulp the beer back in one long swallow.

  My eyes met Devlin’s as I with great reluctance added, “He threatened Mom and Ben.”

  Not being able to believe someone could do that but then I recalled what else he had said, “he also wants me to marry him. I think.”

  Caine began choking on his beer at the last swallow, Amy pounding on his back at the loss of air from almost drowning from a bottle of beer.

  His voice hoarse from the near choking, “He actually said he wanted to marry you? He has a harem what does he need to marry for?”

  “He said I was strong and had power and he wanted me to be his bride. He said I should think of my mother and younger brother and decide tomorrow.” Breathing was impossible with my throat closing, the fear surrounding me like a cloud. I swiped at my upper lip as I could feel beads of sweat appearing.

  Needing to be strong so as not scare either my mother or Ben, I forced a bright smile on my face as well as a bright reassuring tone to my voice.

  By the skeptical way her face scrunched up, I could tell I needed to work harder to deceive her. I would do anything to keep her and Ben out of this and if that meant marrying Lucifer, well.

  A false burst of laughter escaped in a giggle as I said with a depreciating wave of my hand, “I’m sure it was my imagination. With everything else going on and all this talking of angels and demons well. I’ve always had an excessive imagination, haven’t I Mom?”

  After another burst of excessive giggling and finishing my sweet tea, I decided going to bed would be my best bet.

  With a slam of the glass on the table that got everybody’s attention, I announced, “I’m just going to go to bed. You know, tired after fighting angels and all. Need to get enough rest for tomorrow. Night.”

  A hurried wave of my hand and I was off, trying to slip away before anyone could stop me. Mom made a try but I pretended not to hear her call out in protest.

  * * *

  Back in my room, a fast shower was what I had been craving. Hot, hot for my muscles again. I only wish the heat would help my befuddled brain. Maybe sleep would.

  After I toweled my hair with rough hands, I slipped into my sleep shorts and t shirt and burrowed deep under a pile of blankets.

  “You can’t hide from me.”

  Shooting up trying to untangle myself from the mountain of blankets I had been under, I clawed my way out to stare at a man sitting in a chair my bed. His legs outstretched before him crossed at the ankles, arms crossed before him, leaning back quite comfortably waiting to be noticed.

  “Why are you here Lucifer?” A
s I gathered a handful of blankets around my chest, covering myself up the best I could, he gazed right at me with a smirk, “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”

  Blushing that he may have seen me naked I opened my mouth to berate him but he beat me to it, “Not that what you have isn’t very…” His gaze was salacious as he regarded me under my blankets as if imagining what was under there, “nice…blankets.”

  The heat in my cheeks and neck got even hotter, if that was even possible. “What do you want?”

  “To finish our previous conversation.” His voice drawled slow and smooth.

  “We don’t have a conversation to discuss. It’s over.” Raising my knees I leaned my cheek against them as I waited for Lucifer to continue. How did he get through the wards?

  He spread his hands out. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a white dress shirt. His collar was open. No tie and diamond studded cufflinks.

  His dark good looks had me awestruck. “Paige, I think you would make the perfect bride for me. I need you to seriously think of this. Think of your mother and poor brother.”

  His face dropped as if he were truly sad about something happening to Mom and Ben. But I had to remember he was the king of lies, as told to me in bible class as a kid.

  But that was when I saw him intently watching my reactions, his chin almost resting on his chest but his dark, hidden eyes were observing my facial responses as to whether I would believe him.

  Ha. King of lies was right. “You’re lying. What do you really want? “

  His lips twitched at the upturned corners. He raised a languid hand to his chest, over his heart. “I’m hurt you would think of such a thing of me, Paige. “

  “Hurt. Tell me another one, Lucifer.” I raised my chin to show him I wasn’t afraid, even though my heart was pounding a thousand miles a minute.

  That was when the bedroom door burst inward with a loud crash, wood pieces flying every which way. Caine entered, his hands in fists ready to fight.

  Lucifer never moved or indicated he was bothered or scared. “Caine, buddy. Good to see you.”